‘Dragon Tattoo’ style inspiring new fashion

Rooney Mara stars in Columbia Pictures' "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo," also starring Daniel Craig.

By Joseph V. Amodio, Newsday

Posted Dec. 15, 2011, at 5:41 p.m.

Lisbeth Salander may be the most memorable Swede since Greta Garbo and Ingrid Bergman.

Not bad for a fictional character. Salander, a computer hacker and loner, is the heroine of “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo,” the first book in Stieg Larsson’s best-selling trilogy, and soon of a new film starring newcomer Rooney Mara. She also inspired H&M’s Dragon Tattoo Collection by Trish Summerville, a hotly anticipated line hitting stores in Manhattan this week.

Call it nocturnal style, said Summerville, who designed the film’s costumes and the H&M line. “Sweden in winter has, like, two hours of daylight, so, as a computer hacker, she’s up all night. She’s not trying to be stylish.”

Her film wardrobe, in fact, features dirty and distressed skinny jeans, leather jackets and torn tees. For H&M, Summerville cleaned things up. Yet, she’s right on trend. Tough-girl chic was a major fall look from lines such as Louis Vuitton, Givenchy and Alexander McQueen. As fashion editor and Italian style icon Anna dello Russo said earlier this year, “This season it’s all about feta cheese.”

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Huh?

About “fetishes,” she clarified, through a thick Italian accent.

Swell — but you’re not that wild, you say?

“I didn’t want to do crazy goth clothes,” Summerville said. “I wanted to show how you can take a few key pieces and make them your own.”

Like a denim jacket with faux leather sleeves that Summerville pictures atop a dress. Or Army pants with calf zippers — perfect with high heels and a blazer, she said.

Here are some fave pieces from the line, plus tough-girl items from other brands.

“We all wish we had a little piece of Salander, whether it’s her ferociousness, her drive or moral code,” Summerville said. Or, at least, her denim. And maybe her leather.

H&M’s Dragon Tattoo Collection by Trish Summerville will be sold at shops in only four U.S. cities. For information, visit hm.com.